The hits and misses of the 2014 United SportCar schedule

Friday

Sep 20, 2013 at 4:19 PM

January's Rolex 24 at Daytona will begin the odyssey which wraps up in the first week of October with the Petit Le Mans. Watkins Glen International's Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen slides nicely into what's become the traditional late-June slot.

The last really big piece of the inaugural 2014 Tudor United SportsCar Championship season fell into place Friday – IMSA's announcement of a 12-round schedule.

January's Rolex 24 at Daytona will begin the odyssey which wraps up in the first week of October with the Petit Le Mans. Watkins Glen International's Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen slides nicely into what's become the traditional late-June slot.

The most striking thing about the schedule of the merged Rolex and American Le Mans series are the gaps between events. Following the 24-hour opener at Daytona Beach, Fla., fans won't see a sports car again until the 12 Hours of Sebring in mid-March and then it's another month after that when the series visits Long Beach, Calif., as a companion event to the IZOD IndyCar Series' annual classic.

The frequency picks up after that, with two races apiece in May, June, July and August, but following a race at Virginia International Raceway, there's nearly a month-long void until Round XI of the championship at Circuit of the Americas and three weeks later the series wraps up at Road Atlanta. I realize promoters are wary of moving dates around, especially for events not named NASCAR, but this could have been tightened up a little bit, mainly by including two more races.

In Friday's press release, one in which IMSA couldn't help itself but use the word synergy, sanctioning body CEO Ed Bennett was quoted as saying this schedule was made to be fair to the tracks that backed either Grand-Am or the ALMS. Still, it wouldn't have hurt to add a couple in there – glaring omissions like Mid-Ohio and Lime Rock Park.

So, let's break this down:

Jan. 26: Daytona International Speedway

Duh. There was no way a new American-based series wasn't going to start the season with the only 24-hour race in North America.

March 15: Sebring International Raceway

It's really kind of cool to open a new series with two classic races back-to-back, but a span of 48 days between races is extreme.

April 12: Long Beach, Fla.

As a personal preference, I don't care for temporary circuits, even ones as historic as Long Beach. I understand why it's on the schedule – lots of eyeballs – but to omit some great permanent tracks just seems like a miss.

May 4: Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca

Two words about why this track belongs on every racing schedule: The Corkscrew.

May 31: Belle Isle in Detroit

Ugh. Another temporary circuit, and not a good one. Again, United SportsCar pairs with IndyCar for what will probably be a big crowd outside of the Motor City. No Lime Rock or Mid-Ohio, but Belle Isle. Not cool.

June 29: Watkins Glen International

This was one of four no-brainers before the schedule was released, and has potential to become one of the best-attended races not paired with IndyCar or NASCAR. American sports car racing was born at The Glen.

July 13: Canadian Tire Motorsport Park

Or, as people have called it for decades, Mosport. This is the series' only foray outside the U.S. of A. and worthy of being on the schedule. Just wait until promoter Ron Fellows is finished with the upgrades.

July 25: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

The infield road course, naturally. Pairing with NASCAR's mighty Sprint Cup Series always seems like a good idea, but the sports cars always get the wrong end of the stick – Friday night races with no coverage from the national press corps.

Aug. 10: Road America

The only shame about this date, selfishly, is that it clashes with The Glen's NASCAR weekend. This is one of America's top three road courses and if Elkhart Lake, Wisc., wasn't on this schedule, there would be rioting.

Aug. 24: Virginia International Raceway

The only thing going for VIR is a pretty solid fan base – no history, pretty uninteresting place. Track promoters have stuck by sports car racing, so I guess their loyalty is being rewarded.

Sept. 20: Circuit of the Americas

The gem of Austin, Texas had to be on the schedule, despite only being an infant on the racing scene. CotA far superior to any track built inside the U.S. over the past 20 years and, like Laguna Seca, should be on every series schedule.

Oct. 4: Road Atlanta

The last of the "well, duh" tracks, this little-known track in northern Georgia was turned into a real jewel by Dr. Don Panoz. After just 16 years, the Petit Le Mans has become one of the great endurance races in America.

This is the first year of a unified series since 1996, so we should cut IMSA a little slack. Hopefully places like Mid-Ohio, Lime Rock and even Portland can get on the schedule in coming years. This is a solid start.

Just sayin': Anyone else feel dirty after last week's episode of "Breaking Bad?" ... I wouldn't want to be Martin Truex Jr. over the last two weeks.

Chris Gill, who covers auto racing for The Leader, can be reached at cmgill@the-leader.com or follow him on Twitter @TheLeaderGill.

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